Types of Loyalty Emails

In this article, we provide a few types of loyalty emails that you can explore to maximise the benefits of email marketing and help your brand increase customer loyalty!

Emails continue to be a vital part in nourishing the loyalty of customers. Many would think that since marketing has seen a large shift towards social media, emails have become a thing of the past. Data, however, would suggest otherwise. Customers continue to see emails as a more intimate, more exclusive platform. Exclusivity is a vital part of loyalty programs, that's why no matter how strong social media marketing has become, emails still stand as an effective and appealing format that nurtures a league of loyal customers. 

In this article, we provide a few types of loyalty emails that you can explore! The types within this list will maximise the benefits of email marketing and help your brand increase customer loyalty! 

This list will provide a snapshot of the following loyalty email types: 

• Welcome emails for new members 
• Point or reward notifications 
• Promotional emails (coupons, discounts, special deals) 
• New product launch or announcements 
• Incentives to inactive members 

 

Welcome Emails for New Members 

First up, welcome emails. Imagine welcome emails as the king of promotional emails; proven to have 86% higher open rates than normal marketing emails, welcome emails can effectively boost your metrics and warm members up to you and your services. 

An article by Active Campaign is a little assertive with their opinion regarding welcome emails: “You need them. This is not a debate.” And rightly so. However more than an opportunity to bombard your customers with appreciative odes or a bunch of “thank yous”, what welcome emails really do is it introduces your brand to new members. They need it to understand and see your long-term value to them. Not to scare you, but a welcome email sets the tone of your whole email loyalty campaign—mess it up and be ready to meet the trash bin every time you send them anything.  

So, given that this is too crucial to mess up, remember that a welcome email must: 

1. Extend gratitude to new members; 
2. Clearly but concisely explain what the members will get from you moving forward; and  
3. Have a clear CTA to incite member actions 

And finally, remember you are talking to thinking, feeling customers, so keep your welcome email warm and conversational! 

 

Point or Reward Notifications 

Point or reward notifications are crucial to keeping your members engaged in the program. They need this to know that they’re actually gearing towards something. But remember, nothing’s more frustrating to members than to be reminded of what they have only to realise how high the blockages are for redeeming it. So, spare your customers (and yourself) the trouble and simplify your redemption guidelines. You can do this by being clear about what products or services they are eligible to receive and indicating when a certain redeemable expires.  

Additionally, this email reminds members of their progress; how far along they are in achieving a certain status or what they could readily claim with their points. A show of progress is also a good motivator. Members need to see a proof that their actions, no matter how small, significantly gets them closer to getting rewards.  

 

Promotional Emails (coupons, discounts, special deals) 

In terms of emails, nothing probably matches the level of exclusivity that promotional emails offer. Customers love loyalty programs for a lot of things, but mostly because it offers a speck of exclusivity that they hanker for. Think about the idea of *scarcity—*something becomes more appealing because it’s not always present. Because it’s only available for a limited amount of time.  

Promotional or “Special deals” emails could come in the form of coupons, discounted items or services, and special deals—anything that offers value to your customers, really! Some companies even make it a point to segment their rewards depending on their customers’ tier levels. After all, you are not sending to a homogenous email list, but to a diverse, level-differentiated crowd. 

 

New Product Launch or Announcements 

Loyalty emails are an absolute win for customers for several reasons, but mainly because it gives the latter a peek into products you have yet to introduce to the general public. It gives your members a sense of pride and exclusivity to know that they’re one of the first to get news regarding new product or service releases. Simply, it makes them feel special and appreciated. Information on new items or products also assists purchasing decisions. 

Announcement emails give customers ample time to get to know your product and warm up to it. After all, there’s a 60-70% chance of selling to an old customer than to coax new customers into believing your brand’s value. 

 

Incentives to Inactive Members 

Getting your dormant members to engage is a tricky business. They have their reasons for not engaging, but it doesn’t mean that they will never. For this cohort, try sending incentive-lidden emails. Tools can help you segment your inactive members, and once you have this data, it becomes easier to send out emails that ignite their interest. But it will take your usual email format to get through these people. Perhaps you can tailor-fit this email to present items that relates to anything they’ve already showed an interest in or purchased before. Or a reminder of services that go beyond what they believe you’re ready to offer.  

Sure, they’re enrolled in your program, you can view this as an indication of their interest in your brand or product. However, finding the ‘why’ to their inactivity helps you craft offers that emphasise your value to them. Think of this email as your chance to win lukewarm members back. Show them that you have more to offer and that it’s in their best interest to give your brand or service another chance! 

 

Loyalty emails give you an insider information on your customer’s preferences, specifically their interests, triggers, and purchase history. Integrate all this data to your email marketing campaign and see your value skyrocket to your customers in no time!